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October 16, 2017

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Pivar v. Myers

NOTE: The information and commentary contained in this database entry are based on court filings and other informational sources that may contain unproven allegations made by the parties. The truthfulness and accuracy of such information is likely to be in dispute. Information contained in this entry is current as of the last event mentioned in the "Description" section below; additional proceedings might have taken place in this matter since this event.

Threat Type:

Lawsuit

Date:

08/16/2007

Status:

Concluded

Location:

New York

Disposition:

Withdrawn

Verdict or Settlement Amount:

N/A

Legal Claims:

Defamation

Tortious Interference

In August 2007, Stuart Pivar sued science blogger P.Z. Meyers and Seed Media Group, LLC (SMG) for defamation in federal court in New York.
According to the complaint, Pivar is an "industrial, inventor and scientist" who edited a book called Lifecode, which... read full description

Parties

Party Issuing Legal Threat:

Stuart Pivar

Party Receiving Legal Threat:

Seed Media Group, LLC; Paul Z. Myers

Type of Party:

Individual

Type of Party:

Individual

Organization

Location of Party:

New York

Location of Party:

New York

Minnesota

Delaware

Legal Counsel:

Michael J. Little

Legal Counsel:

According to the complaint, Pivar is an "industrial, inventor and scientist" who edited a book called Lifecode, which puts forth a theory of "biological self-organization." Myers, an associate professor of biology at the University of Minnesota at Morris, posted critical comments about Pivar's work on his blog, "Pharyngula," which is hosted on SMG's ScienceBlogs.com. Specifically, Myers allegedly referred to Pivar as a "classic crackpot."

Pivar's complaint included claims for defamation and tortious interference with business relations. He sought injunctive relief and $60 milion in compensatory and punitive damages.

Extensive blog commentary on the case was largely derisive of both Pivar and his claims (see "Related Links" below). Only eleven days after filing the complaint, Pivar voluntarily withdrew the lawsuit.

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